Red And rose Winemaking Flashcards
What grape variety is commonly used to make high quality rose wines?
Grenache/garnacha
What two methods are permitted to make quality rose wines in Europe?
Short maceration and direct pressing
What is direct pressing in relation to rose winemaking?
This is when black grapes are pressed in the same way as white wine making. Attention has to be made to how much pressing to avoid extracting too much tannin
What type of rose wines does direct pressing method produce?
Very delicate
What is short maceration in relation to rose winemaking?
This is where black grape juice is left to macerate on the their skins to extract colour and flavour. The long they are left on their skins the more flavour and colour is extracted
Why is red wine making more involved than white wine making?
This is because the winemaker needs to extract flavour and colour
What is the first thing that happens when grapes reach the winery?
Destemmed and crushed in most cases
What is the reason for pre fermentation extraction at low temperatures?
This is to extract colour and flavour. Tannin isn’t extracted at this stage
What are the average temperatures for fermenting grapes?
Between 20-32 degrees
Why is it important to control temps during fermentation?
If the temps get to 35 degrees plus the yeast will die
What temperatures is Pinot noir usually fermented at and why?
32 degrees as it is pale skinned and needs to extract as much colour as possible
What is the cap?
If the wine is left by itself skin and pulp will rise to the top of the fermenting vessel to form a thick mass on top. This is the cap
Why does a winemaker have to manage the cap?
The cap needs to be mixed into the juice in order to extract flavour and colour as this is where these compounds come from
What is punching down?
This is when the winemaker will manually push the cap down to the bottom of the vessel with a paddle.
Why is manual punching down dangerous?
As the person doing it can become intoxicated with the CO2 levels which rise off the wine whilst fermenting
What are the benefits of punching down?
It extracts tannins
What are the downsides to punching down?
If the cap is too vigorously punched down it can release too much tannin and can produce a bitter wine
What is pumping over?
This involves drawing the juice from the bottom of the vessel and wetting the cap.
What are the benefits of pumping over?
It can increase tannin and flavour and it is a good way to dissipate heat and oxygenating the juice
What is rack and return?
This is when the fermenting juice is removed and pumped into a different vessel leaving the cap at the bottom of the original vessel. The juice is then pumped back into the vessel on top of the cap.
Why are the benefits of rotary fermenters?
The keep the juice in contact with the skins constantly and therefore the cap doesn’t have to be managed
What size vessels are red wines usually fermented in?
Large vessel so that the cap can be managed
What material is the fermenting vessel usually made from when making red wine and why?
Usually stainless steel as it’s impossible to keep the skins in contact with the juice in oak
What are the benefits of post fermentation maceration?
It can extract more tannin
What is the reason for leaving the juice on the skins for longer after fermentation?
It can make the tannins smoother
What is the process for making press wine?
When the post fermentation maceration has finished the remaining skin and mass is removed from the wine. This is press wine